You may have heard the term “core muscles” thrown around, and while it seems obvious that they’re the central muscles in your body, beyond that their relevance might elude you. Our core muscles are, in essence, all the muscles in our body which aren’t our arms and legs. They’re the muscles which keep us upright, enable us to move properly, and even support our nervous systems. Strengthening them isn’t just about getting a six-pack, and a strong core can’t be achieved by just a few crunches. Here is why working out your core muscle group should be a major part of your exercise routine.
They protect internal organs
The core muscles around your ribs, stomach, and back all help to protect the delicate organs inside your body, so the stronger those muscles are, the more protection they offer. Although in everyday life, we tend not to suffer frequent blows to our soft tissue, it’s good to know that if something does go wrong, our muscles are looking out for us.
They help to prevent injury
For one, stronger internal muscles mean we are far less likely to fall over – they’re literally the muscles that hold us upright and keep up mobile. But it’s also the case that stronger core muscles mean that the muscles around them are able to get stronger too, without injury caused by overwork or general wear and tear.
They enable you to exercise other muscles
Without a strong core, exercising other muscle groups can be difficult and even dangerous. A strong core allows us to build on them more comfortably.
They support our backs
Back injuries from sport, poor posture, or sitting down for long periods of time can all be abated or even prevented by exercises focusing on the core. The strengthening of muscles around the spine allow it to be held more firmly, but a muscular strength throughout the abs and back mean that pressure it taken off the spine to hold us upright. Rather than our bodies hanging from our spine, as they can seem to when our cores are weak, we are able to stand upright and use our spines as a support, as opposed to the only scaffolding holding us up. This results in far fewer back injuries, herniated discs, and sciatica.
It makes us stronger overall
Exercising core muscles works out other muscles by default. When you think about how to use a rowing machine, your core muscles are the main driving force behind the movement, but almost your entire body is being exercised as part of the motion, including your heart. Exercises isolating core muscles are rare; most require other muscles to be strengthened alongside, which is no bad thing!
They give a great silhouette
There has to be a little bit of vanity in all of this. A strong core makes our silhouettes look incredible. And once our main core muscles are strong, we can start to exercise the superficial muscles, which makes us walk taller, our stomachs pull in, and everything is trim and toned. A strong core is guaranteed to turn heads.
It improves posture
A stronger core pulls muscles in the top halves of our bodies back and down, meaning that any hunching or slouching is almost completely wiped out. The strength of our stomach muscles pulls out belly buttons towards our spines and elongates our backs. Walking tall exudes strength, and makes us look confident and ready to take on the world. Hunching and slouching can make us look weak and defeated, so it’s important that we work towards a strong and upright posture. It takes a bit of practice to rid ourselves of back posture habits, but working on strengthening core muscles can really help.
It decreases the effects of aging
Our bodies can really take a hit over time, but some of the effects of ageing can be counteracted by exercises that strengthen the core. Firstly, symptoms of bone problems associated with getting older, such as osteoporosis, can be significantly lessened by a strong core, as our muscles protect our spines and hold us upright for longer. Secondly, strength in our core can protect our nervous system, the majority of which is located in our spine columns. People who work out their core can see improved memory and reaction times, even into later adulthood.
As you can see, the importance of keeping your core muscles strong doesn’t just boil down to looking good (although that’s nice). There are all sorts of reasons, from fitness all the way through to safety and memory that make core exercises seem all the more attractive.
